Agreed about the cost of living thing. Cities on the east coast tend to be more tightly packed, whereas the West is more sprawling, and since you'll generally want to live as close to campus as possible, you're likely to end up in the heart of a big city. If you live too far out, you'll end up in another big city. :P
Again, it also depends on your field! If you haven't, though, check out SUNY Buffalo! Buffalo is rated one of the cheapest places to live in the entire country, and tuition is relatively cheap (though I'm in-state so idk).
State universities are funded...by the state. So if you're looking at public universities, the cost of tuition is largely determined by how much funding the university gets from the state government. As for living expenses, those are simply a lot more in the Northeast in particular than just about everywhere else in the US save California. I paid almost as much rent for a tiny, tiny room a three-bedroom, 1.5 bath townhouse in Portsmouth, New Hampshire than I pay for my MORTGAGE to OWN a two-bedroom, 2.5 bath condo in Indiana.
Generally, price is not necessarily an indicator of quality, but simply an indication of the local market and the state's tax issues, or lack thereof.
Hmm. To be honest, I think it's a bit of an elitist thing (most of the ivys are east coast and more private schools). That combined with cost of living. It's tough, yeah. Though, don't let that totally get you down. I went to private school for one year and had less borrowed money than I did for one year at the $16,000 cheaper state school I transferred to. Even in the tough economy, private institutions have more money than public.
Midwest is cheaper, yes, but be warned! If you don't like the west coast, it's hard to imagine you'd like the midwest. ;) It's colder and ah...land-locked. You have to drive through entire states to reach a city bigger than 10,000 people. lol
I think Chicago is an exception. I've met people from both coasts to whom Chicago seems to be the only culturally "relevant" city in the Midwest (that is, it's the only city they can name in the region :p). Of course, that in no way represents the every east-/west-coaster. And as someone who has driven countless times to other states simply to attend concerts, i must second 20hrsinamerica's comment. It can be pretty sparse in the middle of the country.
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Again, it also depends on your field! If you haven't, though, check out SUNY Buffalo! Buffalo is rated one of the cheapest places to live in the entire country, and tuition is relatively cheap (though I'm in-state so idk).
I am also checking out UOregon!
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Generally, price is not necessarily an indicator of quality, but simply an indication of the local market and the state's tax issues, or lack thereof.
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Midwest is cheaper, yes, but be warned! If you don't like the west coast, it's hard to imagine you'd like the midwest. ;) It's colder and ah...land-locked. You have to drive through entire states to reach a city bigger than 10,000 people. lol
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Of course, that in no way represents the every east-/west-coaster.
And as someone who has driven countless times to other states simply to attend concerts, i must second 20hrsinamerica's comment. It can be pretty sparse in the middle of the country.
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